Nike: $315 LeBron shoe price ‘inaccurate’

Stop the presses, reset the servers: Instead of the reported $315, a pair of the yet-to-be-released, limited-edition LeBron X enabled shoes — complete with motion sensors to measure vertical leap — will cost “only” around $290, according to a Nike spokesman. (At that price, why not splurge for multiple pairs?)

The shoe giant rallied yesterday after furor over soaring sneaker prices, pointing out that they offer products at multiple price points. (A stripped-down, no-frills version of the LeBron X will retail for $190.) The company, which dominates the American shoe market, blames increasing labor, material and shipping for increasing costs rather than the desire to gouge customers.

If you think the initial retail price is crazy, just wait until they sell out in hours and start hitting E-Bay, where scores of limited-edition shoes are going for four and even five figures. For example, pair of LeBron 7 “Big Apple” Christmasshoes can be yours for only $3,550. Or if you really want to splurge, how about an unworn pair of original 1986 Air Jordans, with bidding starting at $32,750?

At those prices, the signed pair of LeBron VI Olympic shoes I bought for $1,500 to add to my memorabilia collection doesn’t seem so bad.